Family Matters
by smileintears
Summary: Gilbert doesn't think his life could get any better, so of course it had to get worse. Short AU one-shot/teaser, Gilbert/Lili with Ludwig/Feliciano for good measure. Enjoy!


I actually stumbled upon this little thing while searching my various scattered notebooks for notes for my finals. I can't remember when exactly I wrote it, but it served well as a distraction and a de-stresser during this last week of peace before the hell that is finals. So here's a small taste of something that may come back later- especially after my oral exams.

Enjoy!

**_Gilbert Beilschmidt, Ludwig Beilschmidt, Lili Zwingli, Vash Zwingli, and Feliciano Vargas all belong to Hidekaz Himaruya._**

_**Fritz Beilschmidt made/created/thrown together by smileintears**_

* * *

><p>"It's hot Mama," the little towheaded boy complained. "May we go inside and play with Uncle Feliciano?"<br>The Italian placed his hands on the boy's shoulders and his signature spit-curl bobbed up and down as his head shook furiously. He seemed almost more excited at the prospect of playtime than his nephew.

Lili noted this and ushered them inside the garden house before Feliciano's head snapped from his neck. "Alright, alright; In you go- shoo!" Fritz grabbed his uncle's hand and with a cheerful shout ran inside. Lili immediately followed after: "Be careful!"

Gilbert watched from a distance, looking his wife's form up and down and letting his eyes rest for a particularly long moment on her bottom. He had enjoyed watching her grow from a petit, shy girl to a warm woman; he even felt a swelling of pride knowing part of her transformation was his doing. At the same time, he looked at his cane and felt his waistline struggle against his trousers, and knew that she had been to him like a strong tether on a rough sea. She eased him into the graces of middle-age, making him comfortable with the idea that aging was nothing to be feared- no was it something that he must go through alone.

A cough beside him brought him back to reality. In his moment of reflection he had completely forgotten his brother standing beside him as well as the sunburn building on his nose and cheeks. Gilbert shook his head and excused himself. "Can you believe it?" He began. "Did you ever imagine it- your brother, a husband and father?"

Ludwig cocked his brow and decided he would never get used to seeing such a smile on his brother's face. "As a father, yes," he said with a coy smile. "But as a husband, I never dared."

Gilbert gave a snicker and a huff. "Haha…Thank you for having such confidence in your older brother." Hearing a joke from Ludwig, dry as it may have been, was an equally awkward experience. Just as it took the love of a girl from Liechtenstein to slow Gilbert down, it took the love of an Italian boy to teach Ludwig to relax and break all the rules. "Anyways, there was something that you wanted to-"

"Ah, yes," Ludwig cleared his throat and resumed his serious nature. "About that- I didn't come simply to visit, no offense-"

"None taken."

Ludwig turned and began to walk the path between the manicured hedges. "I have news." He waited for Gilbert to catch up.

"Yes, what?" Gilbert leaned against his good leg.

Ludwig paused. He looked into his sibling's happy face and gave a sigh of resignation: "Vash Zwingli has returned."

Gilbert's eyes widened slowly at first. He had nearly forgotten just who Vash Zwingli was. Ludwig continued: "Imagine his surprise when he finds that his beloved little sister Lili Zwingli is now Lili Beilschmidt."

Gilbert's jaw dropped slightly in an attempt to form words. After a few false starts, he threw his hands in the air. "Perfect!" he groaned. "Just what I need- a wrathful in-law that isn't even aware of his new title yet." He staggered grumbling down the path.

Ludwig rolled his eyes and followed. "Gilbert-"

"I thought that my family was complete when we had Fritz-"

"Gilbert…"

"And now _he_comes along. How could I forget…"

"Gilbert."

"WHAT?"

"First off, calm down- there's no sense in working yourself up. Secondly, I'd like to think that I know a thing or two about outraged in-laws," he patted his brother's back with a knowing smile. "The question is, Gilbert, if you truly believe that Lili is worth it- marriage, the wrath of Vash Zwingli, everything- then are you willing to prove yourself worthy?"

Gilbert gripped the handle of his cane, rolling his lips in irritation and flaring his nostrils like an angry bull. He felt bitterness bubble from the pit of his stomach as he struggled to keep his temper- until a distant clatter distracted him.

Fritz had managed to nearly break one of the large flower pots outside the garden house in a hurry to get outside. Lili followed close behind and was yanked down to her son's level before she got a chance to scold him. His words floated faint over the foliage; "No Mama, look- Uncle Feliciano says that we should look at it in the sunlight!" He eagerly thrust a piece of paper into his mother's hands. She looked down and smiled.

Gilbert swallowed his anger at the scene. He squared his shoulders, squinting his eyes in the sunlight and wrinkling his brow. "Ah… Ludwig," he sighed. "I don't think a question like that is truly necessary."


End file.
